On Pardons and Commutations of Sentences for Military Personnel and Police

Aside from the fact that we do not have military forces available in large numbers for public security tasks, the military community views all of this with suspicion and recalls the treatment they received in the past.

As a result of requests from some mayors to use the Armed Forces for public security purposes due to the lack of capabilities of Carabineros to ensure order and safety in the territory of the Republic, a situation exemplified by the brutal murder of young Alejandro in San Bernardo, the pending issues regarding pardons for police and military personnel have come to the forefront. These individuals had to defend Chile during and in the months following the outbreak of October 2019, as well as the pardons and/or commutations of sentences for the more than 400 military personnel, sailors, marines, aviators, and Carabineros who are imprisoned in Punta Peuco, Colina 1, and other prisons for alleged crimes they may have committed over 50 years ago.

We all know that using the Armed Forces for internal security purposes is far from optimal and should only be done exceptionally, when public force is unavailable or the challenges warrant it. For now, neither the right nor the left respect this exceptionality and have the Armed Forces permanently deployed in the Southern Macro Zone and the Northern Macro Zone in roles that are not their own. That said, when we talk about using them for public security purposes such as protecting Carabineros, hospitals, bus terminals, highways, and similar tasks, both political forces have limited themselves, recognizing that there is a boundary that should not be crossed, due to the fact that military training is poorly suited for the matters in which they would be employed. The military is trained for war.

Clearly today, almost seven years after the outbreak, the police and the Armed Forces have more legal safeguards and political support in case they need to act. No one debates much anymore when a Carabinero or a PDI uses their service weapon to protect themselves from an assault or to protect others from criminal actions. It remains to be seen whether the same public attitude would apply to a soldier who must use their weapon, killing a delinquent or a minor criminal. We will see if surveys continue to support them.

Aside from the fact that we do not have military forces available in large numbers for public security tasks, the military community views all of this with suspicion and recalls the treatment they received in the past.We all know that conscript soldier Robledo, and Carabinero captains Maturana and Carvajal are innocent, and that if they are imprisoned, it is due to a judicial system and a Public Ministry that has members who act guided by their ideological biases. They are not the only ones unjustly imprisoned, but if we are sincerely considering using armed institutions in the fight against crime and organized crime, we must not only prepare them to be part of the public force, but also show them that we care for our own by pardoning the unjustly convicted,something that the President of the Republic can do without having to wait for a general pardon law, which has little chance of being approved in the National Congress, and is currently nothing more than a futile discussion among those fighting over who is more to the right, accusing all who do not support the initiative of being part of the cowardly right. This causes me both laughter and sadness, as very few of them have had to go out with a weapon on the street, or have sworn to give their lives for their country as a soldier or police officer does.

It is time to be consistent with our values and principles, time to end the injustices affecting a few. It is time for our President José Antonio Kast to act.

The Armed Forces and the police also observe the actions of the government and the right-wing political world when it comes to the military and police prisoners from 1973. There are more than 400 who are imprisoned, many of them over 75 years old. There are also several hundred who, after more than 50 years, continue to be prosecuted, and worse still, by the old judicial system prior to the criminal procedural reform, or by judges like Judge Mesa who has not distinguished himself by his conduct.

For the old military personnel and police, the application of pardons would also be ideal, but knowing that this is complex for the government and Congress to carry out, why not start with the application of commutations of sentences for all those over 75 years old? Let them serve their sentences at home. They are not going to escape. We have at least seven who have died in custody or shortly after being released during this government. There are several over 80 and 90 years old who are just waiting for the funeral home to pick them up. Where is the compassion, mercy, and human rights? Where is that Christianity that many claim to practice?

I assume that everyone who has an opinion about military prisoners has visited Punta Peuco and Colina 1. It is appreciated that Punta Peuco has returned to what it was, but that is not enough. Go and see how the so-called military prisoners are treated in Colina 1. It is embarrassing and infuriating to see how they are treated. It is to be hoped that the Gendarmerie, now that it is under the Ministry of Security, will change its bad practices.

Some indicated to me that we should give the government space and time to advance the main legislative projects regarding security and economic growth, but since some from the so-called brave right decided to accuse Minister Grau, even to the point of risking the priorities of the government to which they belong, the thesis that we first advance this and then consider pardons and commutations of sentences has lost its value. If they want to do it, they should be brave in all matters and not just in what suits them. We are free Chileans because there was more than one generation that fought for Chile. It is time to repay those from 2019 as well as those from 1973.

Understanding that we cannot continue to avoid being just to those who defended us at the end of 2019, and understanding that we also owe mercy, compassion, and a minimum of human dignity to the old military and police from 1973, the time has come to apply pardons and commutations of sentences. Do not expect applause from the left; they will attack us regardless of whether we do it or not. There are sensible people on the left, but they usually remain silent when those who hate us shout loudly, those who want revenge, something they wrongly call justice, silencing those who, if willing to be merciful, want to turn the page and move forward.

“For the military and police who have not once, but several times, gone out to defend Chile”